To Protect the Aburame
by blackdragon333
Summary: Finally! A fanfic starring Shino & Aki, which means fall in Japanese. I thought that was fitting because Shino likes bugs, which like fall, which would mean that Shino should like Aki. I dunno, my thought train is offtrack a lot. REDONE! It's better :D
1. Meet Aki, the Kunoichi with a Crush!

Ok. Shino. I LOVE HIM!!! NO SHINO-BASHING ALLOWED!

I'm not THAT protective, but Shino is one of my favorite characters. My heart goes out to the poor guy. Everybody says he's creepy, but he's just quiet. No. No Shino-bashing allowed.

Disclaimer: I own the plotline, and I own Aki. I DON'T own Naruto (the show OR the character). That's about it!

HERE WE GO!

Aki sighed in contentment as she readjusted her caramel-colored ponytail in the warm summer sun. "Well, you guys, mission complete. I don't know about you two, but I'm ready to head home after that one."

Neji nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I like guarding a funeral as much as the next guy, but..."

Aki laughed, her smile spreading the whole way into her dark green eyes. "Same here. What about you, Shino? You ready to go home?"

Shino shrugged. "I guess."

Aki dropped her hair with another sigh, letting it swing out behind her. "Well, two more days until we're home. At least the hardest part of the mission's over, huh?"

Neither answered her.

'Jeeze. What spoil-sports. They're no fun.' Aki looked around for something to amuse herself with, but, finding nothing, retreated back into her thoughts. 'Well...I guess they both have their reasons. Neji's the genius of the Hyuuga clan, and I know it's hard for him to deal with the fact that the main branch holds power over him. And Shino...he's so alone all the time. Poor guy...he really needs a friend.'

Aki's thoughts trailed. 'Well...look at that. Here I am, talking about someone needing a friend and being all alone...' Then, she smiled. 'Maybe it's because of my past that I understand just how hard it is to be alone.'

Flashback

_A young girl, looking about five years old, was sitting calmly in a meadow, picking up flowers that caught her eye. The girl had short brown hair with natural gold streaking through it. Her eyes were deep green and filled with tears, and her arms were streaked with dirt, her fingernails chipped and torn from catching on rocks. The younger version of Aki had recently done some digging; that much was obvious._

_With her small arms full of flowers, she headed up the hill to a freshly dug pile of earth sitting side-by-side with another that looked just the same. The tears overflowed, and she laid a pile of flowers on each dirt pile. Tears dripped onto the flowers quickly, and she sank down to her knees in between her parents' graves._

_'It's so quiet here...' Thought her five-year-old self. 'I do not like this. Nobody is here any more...I'm all alone. Mommy and daddy...they're gone too! How come they left me here? That bad man hurt them...he killed my mommy and daddy!'_

_Although the thoughts should have upset her more, they didn't. Instead, she went into her house, grabbed her parent's ninja gear, and sat down between their graves to wait. Her father had been training her to be a ninja since she was three years old, and she was nearly six. He hadn't gone easy on her, though he was her father and she was rather young to be trained as a shinobi, and she knew that she could handle what she was about to do. She knew that the man that had killed her parents would be back for their bodies and their secrets, but she also knew that she would be waiting when he did._

_Two hours later, a ninja patrol passed by on their way home from a mission. They were surprised to see a small girl covered in blood sitting between two freshly dug graves._

_"Hey, kid, are you okay?! Where are you hurt?!"_

_Aki looked up, blood splatters trailed across her face. Her green eyes were amazingly clear, however, when she finally spoke._

_"It's not my blood."_

_She pointed behind her to the mutilated form of what may have once been a human._

_"It's his."_

End Flashback

Aki's ninja senses snapped her out of her memories. She launched herself backwards in surprise, grabbing both Shino and Neji by an arm and pulling them with her. A kunai flashed past them, followed by an exploding tag. When the smoke cleared, Neji, Aki, and Shino were in attack formation with Neji in front and Shino and Aki in the back.

"Defense triangle." Ordered Neji.

Aki and Shino turned so that their backs created a triangle with Neji's. Aki felt a warmth emanating from Shino's shoulder against her back, but she ignored it, knowing that it was important that whoever was their opponent didn't know she had a soft spot for him.

"Be on your guard, Aki...you're the weakest of us. They'll likely go for you first."

"What the-" Started Aki angrily. Then, she stopped, deciding to play along. "Ok, Neji. You guys will watch out for me, right?"

He and Shino nodded.

Aki knew that Shino was, physically, the weakest in the group. She also knew, however, that she was physically the strongest. She had also figured out Neji's plan. He was tricking their opponent into attacking her first so he could gauge the opponent's strength and possibly figure out a weakness or two.

Just as the realization hit her, so did her opponent. Well, he tried to. Aki, however, had other ideas. She dodged his punch and kicked him in the chin, sending him spinning away. Then, she ran after him in hot pursuit. Just then, her sharp hearing caught a voice coming from the guy's ear. "If that one's the weak one, be on your guard. Two of you to each of them."

"Neji!"

Neji turned towards her.

"It backfired just a little bit! There's a group of them, apparently a big one of at least eight! At any rate, there's two of them for each of us." A quick punch to the temple knocked her opponent out, and she reassumed her position against Shino and Neji without even breaking a sweat. Her next words, she muttered softly. "They think I'm the weakest, so they'll give the stronger ninjas to you guys. Be _careful._"

Her teammates nodded solemnly.

"Shino." said Neji softly. "Take extra precaution. You're physically the weakest."

Neji's sentence was spoken in contempt, and Aki didn't like it. She felt Shino tense and thought about how bad she would feel if someone had said that to her, and she decided she'd have to do something about it. As she concentrated on trying to look weak, she muttered, "He might not be as strong as you or me, Neji, but his bugs make him a force that's definitely not to be trifled with. You might want to think about that next time you go to call him weak."

She felt Shino relax slightly.

Neji looked a bit taken aback. "Are you backtalking the leader?"

"No, _sir_. I was only pointing out the obvious. As seen by your _subordinate_, I mean." Said Aki in a sarcastic tone of voice. Then, she muttered, "Let's hope they didn't hear us...otherwise they'll know who the leader is."

Just then, six ninja swooped down and attacked. Thinking quickly and with Shino's protection in mind, Aki screamed a little and pressed her back against Shino's. "You said you'd help Neji protect me! Those guys are coming, fast!"

Shino nodded quietly. "Don't worry. I'll protect you."

Aki wasn't sure if she was imagining it or not, but it seemed to her that there was hidden meaning behind those words. At any rate, she turned and cowered against Shino, who ducked around her to take her opponents. "Rule one of combat: never leave your back open."

She looked over at Shino as if she were uncertain, but she set her expression to look at her opponents. She dodged underneath an attacker's kunai attack and somehow 'accidentally' managed to throw him into one of Shino's attackers.

She toyed around with the other one for a little while, making it seem like she actually was the weak one of the group. Once Shino had taken care of his guy, she finally 'managed' to kill hers. As she killed him, however, an exploding tag on a tree went off and sent a limb tumbling down onto Shino. Neji was busy fighting his two enemies, so he paid no mind when Aki screamed, "Shino! Oh, Jesus!"

Shino had been cracked in the head and was, from what Aki could tell, unconscious. When his glasses fell off, she _knew_ that he was. Quickly, she ran over to him, hoisted him onto her back, and jumped away, just as three kunai thunked into the ground where his head had been. She had surprised herself and involuntarily picked up his glasses.

Aki glimpsed the other guys leaving and felt their presence disappear. She ran up to a body and grabbed an earpiece, putting it in her ear as she knelt on one knee.

"---there in two minutes."

"Right. Guard them until then."

"Right."

Aki looked up. "Neji...we'll be surrounded in two minutes."

He looked down at her, gauging her strength, and then at Shino's unconscious form lying heavily on her back, his head resting against her shoulder. Neji's forehead creased as he frowned in concentration. "...how many?"

Aki listened and turned pale. "A lot...a whole lot. More than you and I can handle while protecting Shino."

He sat down silently and sighed.

Aki let him think for about ten minutes. Then, softly, she said, "Neji? If you don't have a plan...I do."

He looked at her mutely and unfathomably. After a long pause, he said, "I'm listening..."

"Well...I think you'll have to go to Konoha to get help without us."

"What?! Are you crazy?! You two will die!"

"Not necessarily. The guard will follow you for a little while, but then he'll alert the rogues. They'll come after you too, but if you can evade them for a day or so, they'll give up and come back here to us. I'll handle it from there. Hopefully Shino will be ok by then."

"And what if he's not? What will you do then, Aki?"

Her eyes flashed with determination. "I'll fight. Look, Neji, if you don't do this, we'll die for sure. I'd go myself, but they'll catch me. You're faster than me, and you have the Byakugan. You're our best chance for survival, Neji. Please."

"Aki-"

"Please! Shino can't go anywhere, Neji, and I don't want to leave him-" She broke off. "Uh...all alone."

He looked at her slyly. "You sure you don't just want some alone time with Shino?"

She blushed. "Neji! He's unconscious, and he's hurt! Besides that-"

He cut her off before she could really get started on a rant. "Ok, ok. I get it. I'll go...but if you or Shino gets hurt or even dies, don't blame-"

"I won't." She said solemnly. "But I'm not going to let him die."

He raised an eyebrow.

She paused, then blushed. "Or me! I won't let me die either!"

He smiled slyly. "Yeah. That's what I thought."

Then, he was off.

THERE IT GOES!!!

Yeah, I know that was pretty bad for a first chapter, but don't be hatin'! lol

Review me PLEASE!!!!

BlackDragon333, out.


	2. Acting On Impulse

ok...chapter two is here! Also, I thought I'd bring it to you guys' attention that this story's pretty short, only 6 chapters, and it was mostly made of boredom. I love it though. It was so fun to write!

Aki found a sheltered place under the canopy of a few trees that would help to hide them from the view of their enemies. Gently, she laid Shino down and began to softly wipe the blood off of his headwound.

"Aki..." He murmured softly in a whisper that made her heart race.

She looked down at him in surprise. "Shino, hey!"

"Aki, what's going on? Where's---ah!" He went to sit up, but he cut himself off with a cry of pain. He reached up to clap his hand to his head, but Aki grabbed his wrist before he could.

"Don't, Shino, you're hurt!" She exclaimed. Then, as she realized that she was almost holding his hand, she blushed and laid his hand down gently.

He tried to sit up further, but the pain made him pause halfway up. Aki's hand, instantly on his back, supported him there and helped him to sit up further when he was ready.

He looked up at her and appeared slightly startled. She immediately realized what was going on and took his glasses out of her ninja bag. "Here. They fell off when you fell down."

"Thanks." He took them back quietly and put them back on. "Now...what's going on, Aki? Where's Neji? And where are those rogues?"

"He went home to get us help. We're sort of at a disadvantage here...they've got any number of fighters ready to attack us as soon as Neji slips away from them. Right now, Neji's probably a quarter of the way home, and the rogues should be following him, if everything's going according to plan."

He sighed unfathomably, then looked up sharply. "Why didn't you and I go with Neji?"

"He's a lot faster than me, and you're in _no_ condition to travel."

Shino bristled a little at that. "I'm perfectly capable of traveling." To prove his point, he started to stand up.

"Shino, no, wait! I didn't mean it like--Don't! I believe you, just don't try to stand up! You'll hurt yourself!"

He struggled to his knees. This was a matter of pride now, and Aburame Shino never backed down when it came to defending his honor.

"Shino!" Aki was getting a little frantic now. "Please, don't!"

He lifted a foot slowly and placed it on the ground, bending his knee.

"Shino, please!" Aki felt ready to cry, and her heart was in her throat. She was sure that something terrible would happen if he tried to stand. "Shino! _Please!_"

He paused, but then, slowly, began to lift the other leg. He leaned heavily on his right leg as he struggled to get his left up.

"Why are you doing this, Shino? I know you can do it! You don't have to prove anything to me, if that's what you're trying to do!"

He paused longer this time and opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but he shut his mouth and began to stand. Although his knees wobbled, he managed to stay up for a second or two, although, when he did, he swayed unsteadily as he stood there. Then, his knees buckled and he fell backwards.

Aki's eyes widened. 'If he hits his head again, especially right now---!'

She cut off her own thoughts by diving forward and catching Shino in her arms. She was sitting on the ground with her left knee supporting his back. His neck was resting against one arm, and the other was around his abdomen. She blushed at how she was holding him and hoped that he wouldn't notice. She didn't quite get her wish, though.

He looked up at her face to speak to her. "Thanks, Aki, for catching---"

Shino broke off there and passed out again. Aki sat still for a minute with him in her arms, staring at the dark-haired shinobi that was silent unless he was spoken to or unless he made an observation. She wondered what went on behind those dark glasses and what expressions were revealed to the person lucky enough to see into the deep eyes behind them. Then, she wondered what she was going to do.

'He's obviously injured...and it looks like it might be a head trauma from the way it was hurting him. God...I hope not...if that's the case, we're totally fucked. Poor Shino...if he dies...no. I won't let that happen.'

She went back to cleaning his wound off. Once the blood was gone, she saw that it wasn't as bad as she had thought. She sighed in relief, bandaged it crudely, and pulled out a kunai to prepare herself if they should choose to attack. She rested a little at first though, knowing that she had about a day before they would be on their way back.

At first, for a while, Aki sat cross-legged beside his right shoulder, her back against the tree, watching him. 'Shino...what goes on behind that emotionless exterior? I'd love to know...I really would. You're not creepy, like Naruto likes to say. You're definitely not a jerk, like Kiba says, and you're totally not as much of a wimp as Neji insinuates. But...you're so quiet...I can never know for sure what you're thinking. It's so hard to tell if...if you like me or not.' Here, she began to blush, but it faded, replaced by a saddened and confused look. 'It's really hard for me to tell if I annoy you, or you find me amusing, or if you care at all either way. I really, really wish I knew, Aburame Shino.'

She sighed. Then, she noticed that he was looking pale.

"Oh, shit!" She didn't know what was wrong, but she knew by the greenish tint to his skin that it was bad. She prodded him with her chakra carefully, exploring his body to find the problem. As she did, she realized that the bugs were eating his chakra to the point of tapping into his life force. Then, she realized what that meant for her. "Oh, shit...I'm going to have to...damn it!"

Slowly, Aki took hold of his hand. She spread her chakra into him, drawing the bugs out of him and into her. She wasn't prepared for the pain she felt as the bugs crawled into her skin after her chakra, and she gasped aloud. "Agh!" She cried as they crawled through her veins. "Shino, how can you stand it?!"

He didn't answer, but she hadn't expected him to. "Jesus! This is horrible! Agh! No wonder he's physically weak...it hurts just to move!"

Finally, as the bugs settled down inside of her to feed on her chakra pores, the pain lessened and Aki was able to stand. As she felt the bugs eating away at her chakra, she began to wonder just how Shino did it. She had stored a small amount of chakra away from the bugs, just in case the rogues would show up early, and she was glad now for the precaution. At the rate the bugs were going, her chakra would be gone by the next day.

She looked down at Shino, grimacing painfully as she got used to the bugs. "Shino...wake up soon, ok? I need you."

Then, she pulled out a kunai and set herself into attack mode.

About 6 hours later, it had grown dark. Aki sighed to herself, knowing that they wouldn't attack until morning. She sighed in relief, realizing that she would have one night less to worry. She also realized that it would be getting cold and, too late, remembered that Neji had the tent.

"Damn it!" She growled.

An hour or two later, she was huddled against the tree, shivering. She looked over at Shino and saw him shivering as well. While she was watching, though, he woke and started to sit up.

"Shino, wait!" She called. She knelt down next to him and helped him to sit up. "There...you got the idea...just take it slow, nice and easy."

He managed to sit up mostly on his own. He began to shiver. "Aki, what's going on?"

"Neji's got the tent. He should be close to Konoha now." She didn't mention that they had about a day before Neji would be on his way back.

He nodded, then shivered again. "It's so cold..."

She had never heard Shino's voice with emotion in it at all. She couldn't figure out if it was because he trusted her or because of his headwound, but either way, she didn't mind. Instead, she sighed. "Come on, I'll help you get over to the tree. It's warmer over there."

She ducked under his arm and helped him to his feet. Once he was up, however, she barely let him do any work at all. She helped him to sit down against the tree, and she sat down next to him.

When she thought about it later, she could never really remember exactly why she did what she did next. She later assumed that her brain was half-frozen. But, whatever the reason, five minutes later, Aki grabbed Shino's wrist, lifted his arm, placed it over her shoulders, and snuggled in against him, sliding in so close that their hips were touching.

He looked down at her in what could've been surprise, shock, embarrassment, or happiness. "What the hell?"

She looked up at him, ignoring a profound sense of embarrassment that arose within her as she tried to justify her actions. "I'm cold. You're warm."

He nodded as if this were perfectly normal, then tightened his grip on her shoulders. She immediately blushed. 'If that's not a sign...well...it might not be. I mean...I'm the one that put his arm there...it could be that he's just cold.'

Just then, he rested his head against her shoulder. "Do you mind, Aki?"

She blushed and swallowed, hardly able to believe what was happening. "N-no."

He sighed. "Good."

Then, he fell asleep.

She sat awake, her heart pounding inside her chest, knowing that she couldn't sleep even if she wanted to. Number one, a small attack force of rogue ninjas was coming after them. Number two...she had just gotten a BIG hint as to how Shino felt about her.

Well guys, that's the second chapter! I know it's kind of shallow, but after all, they're just teenagers. I figured I could play that up a little. :D

Read and review!!!!

BlackDragon333, out.


	3. Confronting The Rogues

Here we are with Chapter 3!!! WOOOOO! Sorry lol I'm excited.

The following morning, Aki woke to hear snickering. 'God damn it! I can't believe I fell asleep!' Keeping her breathing deep and even, she turned over to hide the motion of grabbing her kunai and a few more from her pouch. When she had some in her hand, she turned back over and her eyes snapped open. She launched her kunai at their feet, and they jumped back, giving her and Shino some space. She laid Shino down gently, then stood.

Aki looked around at the group of seven rogues. Quickly realizing that she needed to save her chakra, she formulated a plan and glared around at them with hard eyes. "If you try to hurt him, you'll have to get through me first. I refuse to let him get injured."

They pressed in slowly, and she cut off her chakra supply to the bugs. Instantly hungry, they left her body and swarmed over four of the rogues, devouring their chakra. To take care of the other three, she made some handsigns and yelled, "Mizuurufu no jutsu!"

A giant wolf made of water crashed down on them, tearing at them with its teeth. Neither of her attacks were enough to kill any of the rogues, however, although all but one of them had lost his confidence. That one saw that Shino was unprotected and sprang for him.

Aki tackled him in midair, ramming her shoulder into his side and sending him sprawling. He got up, but this time, Aki was standing in front of Shino, kunai at the ready. He still hadn't lost his confidence, so he sprang at Aki. Out of chakra for the time being, she simply pulled her knee up to her chest and slammed the rogue in the face with her foot, breaking his nose and sending him crashing into a tree. _That_ was enough to break his confidence, and he and the others ran off, back to their hideout.

"Damn..." Aki thought aloud, looking at Shino worriedly, then wincing as the bugs crawled back into her body after her chakra. 'We can't stay here any more. They'll be back, and with either a lot more guys or a few that are a lot stronger. If we stay here, there's no way Neji and the others will reach us in time. We've got to go, and we've got to go now.'

She pulled Shino onto her back without him stirring and traveled all day, going as far as she could until she was forced to stop, completely out of chakra. Breathing hard, she sat him down at the base of a tree. It was nearly midnight, and she was tired, but she knew she couldn't fall asleep again. If she did, it would mean death for both of them.

Around two, Shino woke. He looked around. "Is this the same place we were when I went to sleep?"

"No, it's not. The rogues attacked us again, and I drove them off. We're about a half a day away from Neji now."

"Neji will be here in the morning, then?"

"I hope so..."

"Aki...if they're not here...what will you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"How do you plan to escape them?"

"What are you talking about, Shino? I won't run away from them."

"What?"

"I can't." She smiled. "They'd catch me anyway."

"Why? You're fast enough to evade them."

"Not while I'm carrying you."

He was stunned into silence. Then, after a pause, he spoke. "No, Aki. If they come after us, I want you to leave me behind."

"Well, Shino, I don't want to do that."

He raised an eyebrow, the most emotion he'd shown the whole time. "You would risk your life just to protect me?"

She smiled. "Of course."

"Why?" He asked suspiciously.

"Well...you're close to my heart, Shino. You're a friend, and I'd do anything to protect a friend that's worthwhile."

He looked at her in surprise. Then, shocking her completely, a faint smile appeared on his face. He took her hand in his, closed his hand over hers, and passed into a deep slumber.

'What the fuck?!' She thought, staring with wide eyes at their hands. 'He's...he's...he's holding my hand, and he smiled! Oh my god!'

Then, her shock faded, and she tightened her grip on his hand. 'Oh well.'

With that, she lifted his arm, slid underneath it, and sat there all night, just watching their hands and occasionally running her thumb along his fingers. Then she'd smile and tighten her grip on him.

When morning came, she had him on her back and was running as fast as she could.

'Shit...I can sense him coming. Damn...he'll be here soon. I've got to go!'

She tried as hard as she could to run, but with Shino on her back, the rogue that had been chasing her quickly caught up. When he caught up to her, he was surprised to find that she was standing, kunai at the ready, in front of Shino, who was propped against a tree, still unconscious.

"Well, you're a pretty small one for one so strong. What are you planning on doing? Leaving that one behind?" He smirked as though he knew the answer.

She looked solemnly at him. "Never." She growled. "I would never leave him all alone to face an enemy, especially not in the condition he's currently in! I'm not planning on running away from you...I'm planning on fighting you."

He grinned. "Oh? Well, either you're way too loyal or way too stupid. I guess I'll go with stupid."

Knowing that she was watching his every movement, the powerful rogue pulled a kunai out and got himself ready. Aki sighed as he did.

Then, she looked up at him. Green eyes flashed in determination as the fourteen-year-old kunoichi thought of the unconscious fifteen-year-old who was counting on her to protect him.

"Don't worry, Shino. I'll protect you to the last."

That's it! A semi-longish chapter. WEEEEEE!

BlackDragon333, out.


	4. The Fight!

OH GOODNESS!!!! THE FOURTH CHAPTER...AT 2:15 AM!!! WHOA!!!!

Yeah. I'm a lil tired

"Well, little kunoichi, would you like the first move?"

"Cut your patronizing shit, you fucking bastard. Just get to the fight." She spat out the words bitterly.

Although Aki knew that the longer she delayed the fight, the more chance she'd have of surviving, she couldn't let him talk to her like that. Her pride got in the way of her common sense more often than not. She knew in her heart, though, that she would never want to be someone with less pride.

The outlaw, however, just thought it was funny, and he laughed at her. "Nice try, kid. I'm not going to fall for a stupid bluff like that. Trying to threaten me into thinking you're stronger than you seem? Stupid kid."

She frowned. "Think what you want, asshole. If you won't make the first move, I will."

So saying, she jumped back and performed the hand signs for her Waterwolf Attack. When she had raised up enough chakra to perform it, she yelled, "Mizuurufu no jutsu!"

The waterwolf sprang up from the ground, drawing the moisture upwards from the soil and attacking the ninja. It wrapped around him and attacked him with his teeth. The rogue, however, just laughed and countered it by digging into the now-dried ground, which immediately soaked the wolf up.

'Damn.' Thought Aki frantically. 'It's worthless...what the hell do I do now?! I'm almost out of chakra anyway, thanks to these damned bugs...ah! Summer Fox Attack! This'll be the last ninjutsu I can use...after this, I'll have to rely on the bugs, my taijutsu, and my Havoc Blades.' She grimaced. 'There's no way I'll be able to beat this guy. I've got to hold on until Neji and the reinforcements get here, or Shino's a goner. I promised him I wouldn't let him die...and I'm not going to! I've got to protect him!'

She jumped back, calling the bugs with her. As she did, she made a few handsigns and cried, "Natsukitsune no jutsu!"

A fox made of flames burst forth and wrapped itself around the rogue ninja. Instead of laughing, this time he was screaming in pain. As the fox tore at him with claws of fire, he jumped into the hole he had made to escape the waterwolf, and the moisture that was still in there extinguished the fox. He crawled out, covered in burns and boiling with rage.

"You...little..._bitch_!" He growled out. "You're going to die. But before that happens, I'm going to torture you until you _ask_ to die!"

She drew out her Havoc Blades and crossed them in front of her, summoning the bugs up behind her. "Go ahead and try it, bastard."

He sprang at her, incredibly fast even with his burns, and caught her rib with a kunai, scratching her skin open. As he ducked past her, however, her right Havoc Blade ripped into his side, tearing his skin open and leaving a big slash in his side. He wasn't too happy with that, and he ducked under her left blade to smash his fist into her chin, sending her sprawling backwards to land at the foot of a tree. She was losing blood rapidly, and that hit had made her head spin. She struggled to her feet to face the rogue, but was instantly kicked down.

"Well, do you see now just how weak you are? You actually thought you stood a chance. Hah!"

She struggled to her feet once more. "I never thought I stood a chance." She muttered, her vision blurry, and she slurred her words through her split and bloody lip. "I just wanted to protect Shino as best as I could." She cut off her chakra, sending the bugs towards the rogue right after she threw her havoc blades at him, bloodying his left thigh and his upper right arm. As the bugs held him back, she stumbled towards Shino. She dropped to her knees beside him and fell down across him, then reactivated her chakra to tempt the bugs back to her body, not wanting the rogue to kill any more of them. "Please, Shino..." She whispered. "Please...know that I protected you with all I have."

Aki was facing the rogue, so she could see him as he walked slowly and purposefully towards them. He had a big grin on his face. "Well, you little slutbag, are you ready to die?"

She grimaced. "Go to hell."

When he was about ten feet away, Aki sighed. She turned her head to murmur softly in Shino's ear. "Well, Shino...it looks like this is the end for you and me. I'm so sorry I failed you...but I protected you until the end. I hope that counts for something."

And all the while, the rogue ninja continued his advance.

WOOOOOOOOOOOO! STILL SOOOOOOOO TIRED! I GET HYPER WHEN I'M TIRED!!!

BD333, out.


	5. Fuyu of the Dark Swordsmen

Here's chapter five! Sorry for the long wait, but I was lazy.

Aki swallowed silently, watching the rogue ninja as he walked closer. She grabbed Shino's hand quickly as he approached them. "Well, Shino...this is it. This is the end for you and me. If I had any strength left, I'd grab you and run, but-" She gasped as his bugs reentered her body. "-I'm done. There's no way I could carry you and get away."

The rogue was now standing about three feet away. He gave Aki a tight-lipped smile and held up her Havoc Blades. "You're right, kid. This _is_ it. Killed, in the end, by your own weapons. Maybe next time you'll think before you attack Fuyu of the Dark Swordsmen!"

Aki's eyes widened in surprise. "_You're_ Fuyu?! Jesus!"

He smirked. "I see you've heard of me."

"Yeah...and there's quite a bounty on your head." She grimaced. "Too bad I'm nearly dead. Anyway...you're not as strong as I've heard. I mean...you're probably down to half chakra by now, and you're probably just as injured as I am. And I'm only fourteen, _and_ I'm a girl. You're, what, in your thirties? And you're a guy." She flashed a grin. "I guess I _am_ pretty strong." Her grin faded. "Too bad I'm going to die."

He grinned malevolently. "More's the pity. And besides that...when you die, die with the knowledge that your friend will die soon after. And when you two are dead and gone...the next step is attacking Konoha with the help of your dead bodies."

Just as he raised her Havoc Blades, they both heard "Getsuuga!" and a bark. Fuyu was knocked down, and Aki raised her hand from Shino's and caught the Havoc Blades one-handed. Kiba, Neji, and Sakura, in that order, leaped down in front of Aki and Shino.

"Aki!" called Neji over his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

She managed to reply, "I'm just peachy. Couldn't you have shown up about two minutes earlier?" before she passed out.

Neji and Kiba leaped into attack mode and leapt at Fuyu, while Sakura healed Aki, seeing that her injuries were more life-threatening than Shino's. Halfway through the healing, Aki woke and slowly sat up. Sakura finished healing her, and then moved to Shino.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked, puzzled.

"He got a head injury a few days ago, and he's been passed out off and on ever since. I cleaned off the cut and everything, but I didn't really know what else to do."

"Oh. That's easy, then." After a pause, she asked, "So...why, exactly, were you laying on top of him?"

Aki blushed. "Gee, Sakura, you sure make that sound real great. But, uh, I was just protecting him."

"You were going to give your life for Shino? Why?! He's so creepy!"

"He's not creepy!"

Sakura looked a little surprised that Aki was defending Shino. "The guy carries bugs around inside of him!"

"So! I'm carrying them right now, and once you get used to them, they're not that bad!"

"What?!"

"Well, ok, I'm still not used to them. But still! I'm getting there! And, my god, they're painful to carry!"

"Ok, ok, so he's not creepy. But still...why would you give your life for him? You barely know him!"

Aki shrugged. "He needs a friend."

Sakura gave her a blank stare. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you said that he's creepy. Naruto's said it too. He doesn't get along with Kiba very well either, and he's on his team. About the only friend he has is Hinata, and she's so quiet, its hard to tell with her. I just thought that it was about time he had a real friend."

"Oh." Said Sakura noncommitally as she finished healing Shino. Then, she looked slyly at Aki out of the corner of her eye. "Then why were you blushing?'

Aki turned red. "I wasn't!"

"Well, you are now."

"Um...that's...heat rash."

Unbeknownst to them, Shino had been awake the whole time. He now sat up, holding his head. As he 'realized' that his bugs were missing, he sat bolt upright. "What happened? Where are my-"

He broke off when he saw that she was twitching. "Uh...they're inside me. Take them back now. _Please_."

He reached out his hand and took hold of her wrist, aligning the bugs' entryway on his arm with the one on hers. Sakura had to smother a giggle at the shade of red Aki's face turned as she, in turn, held Shino's wrist. Then, when she noticed that Shino's neck was red, she turned away to watch Neji and Kiba fight Fuyu so they wouldn't notice her shoulders shaking with laughter. When she had calmed down, she turned back to Shino and Aki and nearly laughed again. Aki was looking up at his face, spellbound, and it could be assumed that Shino was looking down into her eyes in captivation.

Sakura knew as well that if Kiba and Neji caught them like that, they would be teased to no end. She smiled, not warning them as Kiba and Neji came over, having killed Fuyu. Neji was tactful, but Kiba, of course, was not.

"What are those two doing?" He said loudly.

Shino and Aki jumped at that, but they didn't let go of each other's wrists because they were in the middle of getting the bugs back into Shino. Aki turned and smiled at Kiba. "I'm just giving his bugs back."

"Must take some effort." Neji remarked.

"Huh?"

"Your face is red." He grinned. "From _effort_, I'll assume."

Her face just reddened even more. "Uh...yeah. It's, uh...pretty painful."

Neji nodded. "Oh...so _that's_ why Shino's neck is red."

Shino's cheeks turned the slightest shade of red. "Yeah, of course."

"Hey." Aki realized something and oh-so-tactfully changed the subject. "You guys realize, don't you, that you just killed Fuyu of the Dark Swordsmen."

"What?!" Exclaimed Kiba and Neji.

"Yeah. That guy was Fuyu." 'Hell yes! Operation Change-The-Subject: Success!'

Sakura was beginning to heal Kiba, and she asked, "Isn't there like a big bounty on him?"

"Yeah." Said Aki. "Like 150,000 dollars, if I remember right."

"And there's five of us." Said Kiba. "So that's like...ten thousand dollars each!"

Neji sweatdropped. "More like 30 thousand."

"Yeah." Kiba bluffed. "Just testing you."

Sakura moved to heal Neji's wounds, and she looked over at Aki. "So...let me get this straight. You fought a Jounin-class rogue, injured him badly, didn't get killed, and managed to protect your teammate the whole time?"

"Well...I mean, if you guys hadn't gotten here I'd be dead, so it doesn't really count."

"Actually..." said Neji. "That guy was near death. A few more seconds, and he would have died anyway."

"That bastard!" exclaimed Aki. "He made me think that he was going to kill me _and_ Shino, then somehow use us against the village!"

As the last bug entered his body, Shino let go of Aki's wrist. Her fingers touched his as they let go, and they both blushed, then immediately hoped no one had noticed. They glanced over at Neji, Sakura, and Kiba out of the corners of their eyes and saw that they wore matching grins. Shino saved both himself and Aki from embarrassment, though, with a well-timed question. "So, do we know _why_ those rogues were after us?"

"Yeah." Neji answered. "A small group cornered me, and I learnt that they were planning an attack on Konoha. They needed the bodies of some Konohan shinobi so they could transform into us and sneak into the village unnoticed. While the others attacked from the outside, the rogues that had transformed into us could attack from inside enemy lines."

Aki sighed. "Crisis averted. Thank god."

Sakura stood up from healing Neji. "Well, then, let's head home. I'm sure Tsunade-sama will want to hear about this."

The five of them headed back to Konoha in a pentagram formation. Neji was leading, Sakura and Kiba were to his left and right, and Aki was behind Sakura to the right with Shino behind Kiba to the left. Sakura couldn't help grinning when she noticed that Shino and Aki were slightly closer than they had to be as they brought up the rear.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! CHAPTER FIVE!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOO!

Tired, a little. I hope you enjoyed!

BD333, out.


	6. Last Chapter: Pickup Lines!

Here's chapter six! I'm so freaking happy! wouldn't upload for me FOREVER! ARGH! Q#$!#$$$#!!!!

But here it is :D

Sakura walked slowly down the street, thinking about the past few weeks. 'Aki's been so happy since that mission. Besides that...I've seen her and Shino everywhere together. They train together, they eat at Ichiraku together, they walk around the village together, they go on simple D-rank missions together...I swear they do everything together. But...she's happy now. And so is he.' She looked up at the sky. 'Damn! It's later than I thought! I'm going to be late...and Tsunade-sama will be pissed! I'd better take a shortcut!'

She ducked into an alley, then stood completely still, staring at what was before her with a big smirk on her face.

'Well now...isn't this convenient?'

Shino was the first to sense her presence. Suddenly, he pulled away from Aki, blushing deep red and completely embarrassed.

"What the h-" Asked Aki indignantly at first. She noticed the embarrassment on his face and was puzzled for a split second. Then, hearing a sound, she turned and tried to cover up the fact that they had been kissing. "H-hey, Sakura!"

"Hey." Grinned Sakura in a way that meant, 'Oh buddy, give me five minutes and our whole village will know about this.'

"This...this isn't what it looks like." Shino said awkwardly. 'Damn it, damn it, damn it! Did she really have to go down _this_ alley at _this_ particular time?!'

"So...you guys aren't kissing?" Sakura humored them. 'Just wait until Tsunade-sama hears about this!'

'Gotta cover this up...I can't believe we got caught!' Aki waved a hand in front of her face in a 'don't be silly!' motion. "Oh, no no no! Shino had something on his lip, and I was getting it off. With mine."

"Well, uh...Shino has something else on his lips now, and it looks like strawberry lip gloss. You'd better get that off for him, Aki."

With that and a big grin, Sakura walked away, missing it when Aki's face resembled an apple and Shino's neck reddened to tomato-shade.

Aki and Shino watched her go, and then Aki turned back to Shino, still slightly red in the face, but now amused more than anything. "Hey...you do have lip gloss on your lips now!"

He gave her a small smile. "Feel like getting that off for me?"

She grinned and put her arms around his neck again. "Sure. Anything to help a fellow ninja out."

He smiled as he slid his arms back around her waist tenderly. "Anything? Well, you see, there's this tingling in my lip like I need a beautiful girl to kiss it for me...do you think you can help me out with that?"

She smiled back at him, then said, "Sure, I can help you with that. But, I'm going to need to ask you to do something for me in return."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

Her lips an inch away from his and a small smile on her face, she stage-whispered, then laughed and pressed her lips to his.

What, exactly, did she stage-whisper?

"Work on your pickup lines!"

That's so totally the end! I was really bored when I wrote this so yeah :D be kind plz?

BD333, out.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey, everybody.

Blackdragon333 here.

First off, let me say that I'm sorry I haven't updated in a very long time.

Next, let me say that I won't be updating in a very long time.

Third, let me explain why, and keep in mind that I'm 15, so I'm not overreacting.

On December 6th, 2007, my mother was killed in a car crash, and my baby brother was critically injured. She was 36 years old, and he's 3. A coal truck rear-ended them. This truck was driven by a man the same age and with the same initials as my mother, and he had two children as well. The owner of the company that employed him was my mom's high school sweetheart.

I live with my grandparents now because my father's a deadbeat. They don't have high-speed internet, and frankly, I haven't felt much like writing, though I did write a poem.

I'm sorry, everyone. I'll be posting this on each of my stories, so don't bother reading it twice, unless you want to.

Well, I need to go now. We're going to see my baby brother, and I should be ready when it's time to leave.

Once again, I'm really really really sorry that I won't have the time or the resources to update. Between cleaning out our house and going to visit my brother, along with school, I just got in the time to write this. I'm sorry :(

BlackDragon333 3


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